I should practice wearing my running vest in races leading up to the Bandera 100K, but I’m nothing if not a pragmatist. The 2024 Boulder Marathon has aid stations every two miles and they are stocked with really, really quality gels and hydration. A rarity. And I wear my vest plenty on my long weekend runs.
So I’m going to enjoy running naked. I’ll eat the SIS Beta Fuel gels and drink the Mortal Hydration mango electrolytes at each aid station. My fueling plan is below. Each aid station cup is about 150 ml but I’ll plan on getting an even 100 ml out of them. The water bottles in my vest are 500ml. I’ll target drinking two cups at each aid station.
Aid Station Miles – Boulderthon
ml
Carbs – grams
Calories
Sodium – mg
Potassium – mg
Magnesium – mg
Calcium – mg
SIS Beta Fuel Gel carbs
SaltChew sodium
2.4
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
4.2
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
6
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
80
2
7.6
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
8.6
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
10.2
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
12.3
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
13.4
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
80
2
14.4
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
16.2
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
17
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
18.4
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
20.4
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
80
2
22
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
23.7
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
25.3
200
4
18
180
60
10
8
3200
64
288
2880
960
160
128
240
6
It’s just so unusual for a race to offer such quality fuel. And SIS Beta gels are one of the gels I plan to consume at Bandera, so while I’m not practicing wearing my vest, I’m still eating the gels I need to test out. Not sure if I’ll drink Mortal Hydration, but this marathon will be the perfect opportunity to test that out as well.
I’m so happy when I go to a rock concert. I do it sometimes once a year, at least every couple of years. I can’t explain why I don’t do it more often because I end up having the best time. I feel like a kid again, remembering my first ever concert in San Antonio when I saw Bad Company and the opening act was so much better – Cheap Trick. I went to a lot of concerts in high school and college.
I saw Struts perform at the Mission Ballroom earlier this week with my buddy, Jed. We met for beers and wings at the BrewDog because it’s a short walk from the venue. I highly recommend it for that reason alone, but the IPAs are tasty as well. I have to ding them for charging a $1 for each additional ramekin of blue cheese. I’d let that go but they were smaller than a Dominoes ramekin and only half full. I mean, seriously, blue cheese is a condiment. But go, it was good.
I’d describe Struts as glam rock – which describes the performance more than the music itself, which I’d call pop rock. Struts puts on a good show. They get the audience involved. I’ve attached a couple of videos to give you a feel for them. Go see them if you get a chance. And go to the Mission Ballroom. There’s seating if you want it and a huge floor for standing with quick access to bars galore.
Karen and I first discovered Peaceful Valley in January of 2014 when we snowshoed there. The thick trees sheltered us from the winter winds. We hiked there last Sunday and returned today. Such a pretty trail. We got in a good two miles in an hour.
Highway 7 back through Lyons was closed due to an accident so we ventured the other direction and lunched in Estes Park on the veranda at The Stanley Hotel. It’s good to have options.
The cooler temps that ended the week have been nice. I ran a really fast 10 miler Thursday, a 9:40 pace which is fast for me, and a 10 minute pace Saturday on a 15 miler. That’s also my longest run since the Colorado Marathon in May. It’s time for me to up my miles to prep for the Boulder Marathon at the end of September. And I think 15 miles is long enough but I’d like to run a couple of 20 milers before then. I could have gone for 20 today. The cooler temps really make a difference.
I learned a cool running tip while watching the women’s marathon in Paris today. Carry an ice pack in your left hand. Blood flows from the heart through your left hand before moving to the right side of your body, so you can cool your blood off early in its circulation. It could be cold in Bandera in January, but it will be humid and that’s just like heat because the sweat doesn’t evaporate effectively.
I have my hydration plan decided now for Bandera. I’ll drink 3 different mixes. One bottle of LMNT with 1000mg of sodium and one bottle of high carb/high calorie SIS Beta Fuel. I’ll drink that for the first loop. I’ll continue drinking the high carb SIS on the second loop but swap out the LMNT for high sodium (500mg) Precision Fuel. PF has a bit less electrolytes than LMNT but is still on the high end while it contains a higher dose of calories, closer to what SIS has. PF is a super good blend of high calories and high electrolytes. Swapping out LMNT for PF will give me some diversity in taste. I’ll be able to drink Tailwind at the aid stations which is another good drink and one I know I do well with.
I have a short list of gels to fuel with, that I know don’t cause me GI distress, and I’ll have a more diverse mix of those. I want to avoid super sticky gels because that really irritates me. The empty packets make a mess out of my vest and hands. SIS Beta Fuel gels and Maurten gels will be on that short list. Maybe Santa Madre, they have a hugely diverse assortment and I like their jelly bars – they’re not sticky and also not as dense as gummy bears which don’t digest easily for me. I’ll eat some natural foods at the aid stations. I’m a big fan of oranges.
I would have run on the track today but Karen and I got in a mountain trail hike instead. The air felt so good up along the Indian Peaks. We got in an hour on the Middle St. Vrain Trail. It’s an area we typically snow shoe, about 45 minutes from our house.
This is me today, running on the track. I intend to run 400 meter intervals for the month of August to improve my cadence and stride length before the Boulder Marathon at the end of September. I ran 4x400s today and I’ll add one more interval each Sunday until I reach 8, which is what I used to run in college, 8x400s.
This was me on the track in college, forty years ago. I don’t expect my stride length to get to where it was then, but a boy can dream.
I’m still thinking about last weekend’s getaway to Angel Fire, where the temps were so much cooler and the trails were tree covered. I gave hydration special attention today in the 90° plus temps but failed. I drank a pint of electrolytes before my run but made the error of not drinking during the run until after 3 miles. I should have started sipping immediately.
I walked half my return on a 12 miler. I depleted my liter of water early and almost called Karen to pick me up as I became nauseated. I didn’t wear a watch or my heart monitor today but I could feel my heart racing and that’s what would lead me to walk. I can’t say if it was my A-Fib kicking in without my chest strap, but it felt like it was acting up.
I’m deliberately practicing my hydration routine to prep for Bandera but clearly I have a ways to go. Hydration, meaning both water and electrolytes, is critical. You can recover from a lack of calories but you can’t recover from dehydration while continuing to run. You have to DNF. Or you should DNF. Unfortunately, dehydration impairs your decision-making and so many runners continue to run until they drop.
I recall running the Beach-to-Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi in high school and college. I think I ran it 6 or 7 years in a row. One year in high school, I wandered down to the water after my leg and fell in because I was so delirious. We had to rush another runner from my team, Jessi Montez, to the hospital after he became dehydrated. My last episode with dehydration was the Desert Rats Ultra this spring. I was cramping and couldn’t maintain my balance afterwards. It was a bit embarrassing really but my friends were there to help me.
I’m grateful the air quality improved enough today after the fires to run outside. I ran most of the week indoors, on my elliptical which is sort of like running without gravity. If it’s not smoke in the air, it’s unbearable heat. It’s getting hard to be a runner anymore.
Brit and I found ourselves running the Whoop De Doo Trail in Angel Fire this morning. Technically, it’s a 3 trail loop comprised of the Whoop De Do, Elliot Barker and Ho Chi Min trails. Absolutely zero signage, so take your phone.
There’s not what I would call a trail head, but start at the end of Via Del Ray, which you pick up from behind the Lowes Grocery Store. There’s room to park on the side of the road. You could also park at Lowes, run up Deer Trail, and cross the road to Ho Chi Min to reach the loop. So many options to run in the Angel Fire Greenbelt.
It’s perhaps a moderate trail with a few hills, but nothing steep. Although it does sit at around 9,000 feet. It’s a good run. We got in an hour but you could go all day long in the greenbelt.
Angel Fire was first named by the Utes – Fire of the Gods – after the gloriously red and orange sunsets and glow seen above the mountains at dusk and dawn. The Spanish later renamed it The Place of the Fire of the Angels. Renowned explorer and buffalo killer Kit Carson would later rename it to Angel Fire. Karen’s good friend graciously lent us her condo at the resort for the weekend. A weekend when the air quality in Colorado meant working out indoors if at all. Not only was there some visibility in New Mexico, but it was 20° cooler.
I was in Angel Fire last in 2016 to run a 24 hour relay through the ski slopes with my friends. Karen and I hiked the Greenbelt across the road from the ski slopes because they are 99% dedicated to mountain bikers during the summer. We hiked the Lady Slipper near Monte Verde Lake Friday morning. The two photos above are from that trail.
We hiked the Deer Trail Saturday morning and we saw deer.
Brit got in a trail run while Karen and I hiked.
Once we returned to the condo, Eric launched off to Taos via the South Boundary Trail for a 22 miler.
We picked him up at the El Nogal Trailhead outside of Taos after strolling around town a bit.
Eric said it was his prettiest run of the year. He only saw 3 others, mountain bikers, the entire distance.
I’ve yet to run but expect to get in a few miles tomorrow. Nothing as extreme as Eric.
They had a blast. I’m hooked on following ultras right now as I psyche myself up to run 100K next January. I can’t get enough of this stuff. I watched both Hardrock and Western States recently on YouTube. It’s been a fun distraction.
My summer of ’24 is all about training to run a 100K ultra in the Texas Hill Country winter. I already know how to run, so I’m half way there. I think I can scratch off a few other things I needed to learn. I know what gels work for me and what electrolytes to drink. Learning to properly fuel is as important as putting in the miles for an ultra.
I like Maurten and SIS Beta Fuel for my gels. And I plan to mix 3 drinks – Precision Fuel, SIS Beta Fuel, and LMNT. SIS is high in calories while the other two are high in sodium. The aid stations will serve Tailwind which I do well with. I’m also learning what gear I do well with, but hard to say what the weather will call for in January. I know how these things go. My performance in January will be based on what I do this summer. And there is so much more to train on than running.
Today was my first track day in a good decade. I didn’t time myself but I ran a few 400 meter laps at about 80% full speed – resting for a minute interval in between. Running track is hard. My goal was less conditioning and more training to run with a faster form. It felt good. I increased my normal cadence from 170 to 200 steps per minute and my stride length from .9 to 1.3 meters.
The East Boulder Trail got a face lift this summer. The trails around the north side of the water tank were filled with gravel. And a new section was built that meanders up the east side of the tank until rejoining the old trail at the top of the hill. It’s very nice to see this trail maintenance but this trail was already fairly pedestrian and now it’s even more so. I miss the deep ruts.
Still, the trail surface matters less than the hills this trail offers. There are no steep climbs like you would find on a mountain trail, but they are good hills nonetheless. I figure it might be similar enough to the hills in the Bandera 100K to serve as a good training ground. Paired with 5000 feet of altitude, it’s relatively easy to spike your heart rate on this trail.
I ran the trail backwards Saturday, parking at the trailhead off Valmont instead of in the Heatherwood neighborhood. That set me up to run the large loop around the water tank, since that was my turn-around point. It made for an 8.25 mile run. I felt strong on the hills but ran super slow, for me, a nearly 12 minute per mile pace. It was hot.
I’ve been focusing my training on learning to fuel, something as important as putting in the miles when it comes to ultras. It was too hot for me to eat but I had no problem downing 32 ounces of electrolytes in 98 minutes. I want to target drinking 1 to 1.5 500ml water bottles per hour in Bandera. It shouldn’t be overly hot in January but the Texas humidity is almost the same as heat because it keeps your sweat from evaporating.
I have two plans to prepare for the Texas humidity. The first is to wax off my body hair. Sweat evaporates more efficiently on hairless skin. The improvement is marginal but it’s real. My second plan is to buy a membership in the October timeframe to the rec center so that I can sit in a steam sauna 3 or 4 times a week. That heat adaptation process purportedly results in a 5% to 8% performance improvement. I’ll see if that works to condition my blood plasma for the heat.
I’m also going to work on my speed. I think I’m in shape to be running much faster but I’ve forgotten how to run fast. So today, I’m planning to run 400 meter intervals on the track. I’ll do them each week until my form adapts to running with a faster cadence and longer stride. I’m currently running about 170 steps per minute with my stride under a full meter. The track should improve that. We’ll see. Good trail running requires a blend of cadence and rhythm. I’m going to work on both.
Karen took me to Estes Park for a mountain getaway. This photo was taken at the Stanley Hotel. If you look closely, you can see my broken shoulder on the right, stage left. There’s a noticable bump.
We hiked a bit together, and walked around town, but Sunday morning was me time. I got in six miles running up Deer Mountain. I ran slow but felt really good about my trail legs. The trail wasn’t overly steep, a bit rocky in spots, but totally runnable. I’m still a bit gun shy after my tumble on the trail last November, but surprised myself by running strong downhill.
I’m looking forward to a good summer of trail running. I thought losing weight would make me faster and it hasn’t. Running is certainly more comfortable at 170 pounds. I hope to learn how to run fast again. My next two planned events are the Boulder Marathon in late September and the Bandera 100K in January.
My most nostalgic memories and feelings hit me in a Southern rain. I know it can rain hard in the South, but my memories center on the softness of a Southern rain. I moved to Texas as a boy in the mid-seventies and for the first two weeks it rained non-stop for 14 straight days. They said it was a record at the time. I got into running and spent countless hours running in the rain. I remember those runs as always so comfortable.
I ran a final time in Ashville today around the Hard Times Loop Trail. I ran for a mile or so with another man about my age. My pace dropped from 11.5 minutes to 9.5 uphill. We had a good chat. Afterward, Karen and I hit the Malaprops Bookstore. She picked up a mystery and I found a couple of reads that I enjoyed later on our porch while the rain came down. Nothing better than sitting in a Southern rain.
Karen and I hiked the Lover’s Leap Loop in Hot Springs today. It’s a short segment of the Appalachian Trail which I’ve always wanted to see. The AT actually runs through the middle of town, so it’s safe to say that Hot Springs is even more of a hiker’s town than Ashville.
The trail is famously marked by white trail blazes.
We parked in town and walked across the bridge spanning the French Broad River to reach the trailhead. The trail followed the river for a bit before climbing up to Lover’s Leap. Like my trail run the other day, there were very few flowers among the greenery. We saw mostly the same plants.
The Lyreleaf sage is very pretty in a sea of green. And there were more Mountain Laurels.
This Virginia Spiderwort was new for me to see on the trail. Of course, we saw a million plants yesterday as part of touring the gardens at the Biltmore Estate. Vanderbilt had one heck of a backyard. Tomorrow, I’m taking Karen for a hike on the Hard Times Loop I ran earlier this week. We’re getting in some quality outdoors time in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Pick your path in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Any path. There are countless, tree-covered paths to run through the woods and hills around Ashville, NC. Nearly everyone Karen and I bothered for conversation mentioned how Ashville reminded them of Boulder, Colorado. Guess where we’re from, we would respond in unison, just like when our kids ask us anything. We’ve been married too long.
I have to say, flowers were few and far between all the greenery. The trails around Ashville are green. This loop with graceful slopes was completely covered by a canopy of trees the entire six-plus miles. It had a magical quality to it. I felt spoiled running there. These daisies were surrounded by 500 hundred meters of greenery in every direction.
The Lyreleaf Sage was equally secluded. I only saw a few plants over six miles.
The Mountain Laurel was just as lonely. I would see a tree every mile or so, except near the trailhead where they lined the trail for a short while.
I saw one orange mushroom on the entire run. I’ve always wished I knew my mushrooms. Seems like a writer should know his poisonous plants. One of these days I’ll read a book on mushrooms.
I hope to run some more trails this week. This loop was merged with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail for a ways. If I can, I’ll make it to the Appalachian Trail. The AT. That’s on my list. It’s not far from here.
Ellie is now hotter by two degrees. That was stenciled on a candle her sissy gifted her at dinner after her first commencement celebrating her Masters in Data Science. Degree number one.
Ellie opened all her gifts. This blue box was from her Aunt Laura.
Ellie’s best gift was her 91 year old papa visiting from Austin. Her papa and grandma had to split the proverbial baby to also attend her cousin’s graduation at A&M in College Station. Her papa paid for most of her tuition as well – quite a gift.
Brit, Eric and Margot couldn’t make the ceremony but joined us for dinner. They made Friday’s commencement for Ellie’s B.S. in Quantitative BioSciences and Engineering – degree number two. 2°. Get it?
Of all the excitement, I got the impression Ellie was most happy for us to meet her boyfriend, Austin.
Much was made by the school president of the fact that this was the pandemic class and that many of the students didn’t have a normal high school graduation. Ellie is posing here with the Mines’ mascot, Blaster.
Two days after her final class, Ellie has yet to find a job. So Brittany extended an invite for her to babysit Margot next week. Great timing on the ask, I thought.
Karen and I are hoping to see a bit more of Ellie this summer, assuming she moves back home after her lease expires at the end of the month. With Ellie commencing on her career journey, Karen and I are adapting to having become empty-nesters.
The pic above is of me emerging from the tunnel around the first two miles or so of the Colorado Marathon. Only 24 miles to go. I felt great at a 9 minute pace. I didn’t know it was a 9 minute pace, I had my watch set to monitor my heart rate. I didn’t know my pace until completely afterward. It felt fast.
I maintained that pace for the first 13 miles. Well, I had a 4 minute wait to pee at 11 miles. It felt like I was there for 15 minutes. My heart rate was entirely rested and I’d given up on any goals. Of course, I didn’t know mile 11 was at a 13 minute pace until after the run. I simply ran how I felt after that. I ran comfortably. While waiting in line, I took off my vest to switch my alpaca long sleeve for a tank. That maneuver likely would have taken me 3 minutes on the road, so theoretically, I could subtract those 3 minutes from the 4 minute pee stop. Whatever the time series math, I felt so much cooler. It was a smart gear swap.
I slowed down to a 10 minute pace for the 3rd 10K. I got used to people passing me. From a people-watching perspective, I have some good stories. I no longer saw pacer signs and wasn’t monitoring a chronograph, so I was temporally lost. I enjoyed people-watching. I took a photo of some horses running in a field. I focused on my training plan for the 2025 Bandera 100K. I fueled per plan, which is triple what I normally consume in either calories or hydration. I was able to confirm my discovery during the Desert Rats 50K – which brands my stomach could tolerate. That was a big win. And I kept myself out of both a calorie deficit and electrolyte debt. I never cramped, not even afterward.
I even picked up my pace a bit for the finish. I’d been running an 11 minute pace for the 4th 10K but dropped back down to 10 for the last two miles. Not sure I’ve ever done that. A bystander near the finish, a man who could not have been much younger than me, shouted out, “Way to represent us older runners.” That didn’t sit well with me. Still doesn’t. Whatever, I’m running slower now but ran perfectly to my pace expectations and it was awesome training for my pending ultra where I’ll need to run slow.
I ran a 10 minute pace in today’s Colorado Marathon for a 4:23 finish. Six minutes ahead of Chad’s 4:29 in last week’s Nashville Marathon. I could stop there.
I didn’t sleep well at the Armstrong Hotel. Very nice hotel but the street noise was loud all night. Felt fine in the morning though. This was my weather below. I felt great in my alpaca wool long sleeve, but switched out for a tank about half way through while waiting in line for a porta-potty.
I ran a 9 minute pace the first ten miles. Really for the first half but I had to wait in line at a porta-potty for 4 minutes in mile eleven. Leveraging the downhill at the start was part of my plan, so I was happy with my pace throughout the run, even though I slowed down to 11 minute miles in the final 10K.
I stopped to take a photo of some horses running through a field. Most of the course through the Poudre Canyon was simply spectacular to view.
Karen was my crew chief again. She’s done an awesome job helping me to manage my nutrition. Like the Desert Rats 50K ultra the other week, this marathon was a training run for next January’s Bandera 100K. I feel good about my fueling. I’ve never eaten so many calories or hydrated so well, and my stomach did fine. And my heart rate did well, never hitting max, even when I was pushing my pace early on. I’m gaining confidence for that 100K.
My brother-in-law Chad ran his first marathon Saturday in 4:29. That’s probably about what I’ll run for next week’s Colorado Marathon. I ran the Boulder Marathon last fall in 4:30, so currently, Chad has me beat by one minute. I’m going to target 4:28 next Sunday.
It was Ellie’s birthday weekend. She’s pretty happy with her boyfriend’s performance. Austin bought her flowers and baked her a cake. I haven’t asked any questions yet about the pumpkin.
And it was a big Margot weekend. She spent the night so her parents could go see a band perform. I took her home early this morning so I could get in a twenty-mile run. My last big miles before tapering. I tested out my new Salomon ADV Skin 12 running vest. Such an improvement over my previous vest with big, easy-to-reach pockets.
Next weekend can’t come soon enough. I’m at a good running weight and excited to see if I can beat Chad. He’ll be the first to know if I do.
As I launched off the porch for today’s 12-miler, the tulips were bathed in snow.
As was the Grape Hyacinth.
It’s been snowing for a couple of days non-stop, but it’s just a cold spring rain.
I thought about last weekend’s 50K as I ran. I hardly worked out at all this week…I had a dermatologist visit, a colonoscopy…I had a busy week and I didn’t run much. My legs felt so awesome, so fresh, I wished I’d worn a watch. I felt fast and strong today.
I’ll get in some good miles this weekend and next week, and then the following weekend, before I taper for the Colorado Marathon. I wish I could run it as fast as the last time in 2017. I’m confident with distance but I’m not running very fast right now. Not sure if I ever will again. Hope I do though.
Speaking of fast, Eric took third overall at the Royal Gorge 30K in Canyon City this morning. That’s him holding 2.5 year old Margo Fay. My next go at it will be the Colorado Marathon on Cinco de Mayo.
I discovered at the end of my twelve miles that Karen had tipped the snow off the flowers. They have a chance of surviving. God, do I ever know the feeling.
As the sun rose over the dry Colorado Desert, Brit and her lifelong friend Megan, from schools Burlington and Sunset, prepared to run 31 miles together. A 50K trail ultra. I’m not sure if this photo below is from the start or the end of the race, because they looked fresh during the entire saga.
Thelma and Louise were in rhythm over the hardscrabble slick rock on the south side of I-70. They say the north side is less rocky and more flowy. They talk like that in Fruita, a mountain biking Mecca with more brewpubs than churches. I’d consider giving up the views of the Colorado River and Monument at Pizza Overlook for some soft running dirt considering I rarely took my eyes off my footfalls.
With Megan leading the way, the girls ran close to the edge of the canyon.
Megan’s daughter Luna helped Coco babysit Brit’s little Margot Fay back at the AirBnB while the mothers enjoyed their quiet time Colorado style – running for eight hours through massively technical single track.
Seriously, this is how Colorado mothers relax.
I know because I was there. The leaner, twenty pounds lighter me after Karen tracked me on a diet since February.
I started out with the girls in the corral. In that first mile, before queuing up on the single track, I ran behind the girls. Once I felt warmed up, I told them that my legs had muscle memory and they remembered running fast. That was the last I saw of them.
And then, there was only me. For the next seven hours.
I was able to toss my alpaca wool jersey to my crew, Eric after circling around the Rustler’s Loop trail and put on a fresh tank to run the remaining twenty miles. Perfect timing for a blazing cold desert sun. The photo above would have been about three hours into my seven and a half hour ultra. The mountain air didn’t rise over the mid 70°s, but the sun reached through the atmosphere to sear my skin like it only can on the Kokopelli Trail.
I have to say, I didn’t expect a desert trail to be so pretty. One never expects much of the desert. Some places you have to visit. But OMG, it was like running with scissors. I hadn’t been on a technical trail since my little tumble on the Wild Turkey Loop last November. This trail was orders of magnitude more rocky, more uneven, more deadly. On my first steep rocky downhill, I felt as if I’d been kicked out of the nest. And I was still stuck in that starting line mass where I had to walk when they walked and run when they ran. I trusted the process and got through it. The crowd didn’t open up with some running room until just short of three miles into it. Ten percent of the total distance.
I got to the end though. I learned tons to prep for my 100K ultra in Bandera next January. I learned how to treat muscle cramps with salt chews. I learned the value of training my stomach for food. I learned I could handle double the hydration that I normally consume, if I stay focused on it.
The photo above captures what my weekend was like with friends and family. Everyone was cheering for each other and making each other happy.
My high school friend and epic hiking buddy, Rob was there navigating the trails as I’ve seen him do for nearly fifty years now. I honestly don’t know how I could know so many old runners, but at least a dozen other friends were there with me whom I’ve known for decades. Friends who taught me this weekend that whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. Even if that means I have to rub her ears like only I can.
When I was younger and an athlete, I learned to will myself to the starting line. It wasn’t easy because my body knew exactly what was in store for it. My stomach would revolt and threaten to vomit at the starting line. Nerves have a sixth sense, or some kind of knowledge gleaned through the accumulation of DNA over a million generations. My body knew the hell that I was about to sacrifice it to and it wanted no part of it. My bowels were dead set to vacate themselves. Fortunately, my DNA didn’t understand timing and starting guns, and I was usually off and racing before my body could erupt itself in protest. Which is why core strength is paramount for racing.
I finished up the work week in good shape. I couldn’t finish everything but work is never done, that’s why they call it work. I’ll keep a stub of things yet to be figured out in my head for the run. Lots of thoughts will traverse my mind over the six hours it will take me to run the Desert Rats 50K in Fruita this Saturday. Or seven hours. Or eight hours. I really hope it’s six hours.
I can’t recall the last time I was nervous at the starting line. After a couple of decades off from racing, I got back into it in my fifties. I always felt so happy at the start to the marathons and trail runs and various events I signed up for over the last decade. Now I’m in my sixties and I’ve had some lapses in my conditioning. After a broken shoulder, Covid, and well, a real cold, I’m set to run 31 miles this Saturday. I haven’t put in the miles for this and my body knows it.
But my wife nursed me through a diet to do what she could to get my weight down, and honestly, my weight alone gives me tremendous confidence. I can run anything at 175 pounds. I can run all day long. It would help me to run faster had I put in the miles, but who needs to run fast at 61 years of age? No one will even ask me what my time was. They’ll be happy to see me finish. I can finish by walking in the final 15 miles if I need to.
So I won’t be nervous, despite my dearth of conditioning. And I won’t be able to help myself from being happy standing at that starting line on the Kokopelli Trail in the high desert of Colorado. My daughter will be standing there with me. We’ll learn something of one another after 31 miles. Assuming I can hang with her youth. I know how special it is to be able to run an ultra with my daughter. I’ll be happy standing at that starting line.
A Runner's Story 